Building Peak-Performance Teams

By Herbert M. Greenberg, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Caliper

Even if you are not a racing fan, there is something exhilarating—almost magical—about seeing a fiery car in a blaze of color fly into a pit as crew members in yellow, fire-retardant suits—at breakneck speed—change tires, refuel the tank, replace hoses, make sure the engine is humming, attend to the driver, and, without a wasted motion amid the incessant roar of engines in a continuous blur of activity, get the car back into the race.

Such pit stops can take less than 10 seconds. Ultimately, they are where records are won, and races lost.

Wholesaler-distributors in this tight economy can learn a lot about building peak-performance teams from such pit crews.

Whether companies are large or small, success often depends upon forming a cohesive group of people who, in other situations, might not necessarily get along together.

It used to be enough for companies to concentrate on simply hiring the best people for each position. But that alone is no longer enough to stay ahead of the competition in today’s marketplace. Now, the most successful companies are those that can create synergies, sparks, and a sense of purpose among divergent team members.

Peak-performance teams are able to bring out exemplary talents in each player, create efficiencies, prepare for eventualities, synchronize activities, communicate on the fringes of each other’s abilities, and operate with a unique single-mindedness of purpose.

Team building, as we have discovered, is not a quick, one-shot approach. Rather, it is a continuous, evolving process, which, in order to be effective, starts with a clear vision of the team’s goals and a well-defined strategy on how to attain those goals.

A team must be viewed as a totality, not as discrete elements. Every team has particular strengths and weaknesses.

Regardless of the nature of the business or the size of the company, peak-performance teams typically share a number of common characteristics:

• They have a unified understanding and vision of the company’s goals, objectives. and future.
• Each team member is keenly aware of his or her own skills, precise role, and value to the team; each team member is also aware of the same for all other team members.
• Members of the team derive as much satisfaction from the performance and achievements of others as they do from their attaining their own milestones.
• Finally, communication among team members is open, informal, and ongoing.

There are, of course, many tools available to help management move a team forward. Attitude studies, valid psychological tests, employee productivity workshops, and team-building activities are just a few approaches worth considering. Which of these activities, or combination of activities, might be appropriate depends on an understanding of what gaps exist between where the team is and where it could be.

Our work with start-up entrepreneurial firms and Fortune 500 corporations alike tells us that, while there are many differences, the most successful companies do share one thing: An emphasis on creating new, more effective ways for empowering people to collaborate. Only with such a commitment can companies in today’s marketplace keep ahead of the competition and move toward reaching goals and realizing visions.

About this Blog

This blog is created by NAW and its partner Caliper, an international management consulting firm that offers a wide range of personnel services to wholesale distribution companies.